The floodgates have opened today on the internet on "spy" images of pre-production prototypes of the long-awaited replacement for the C-segment Alfa 147, revealing all external angles as well as giving a first look at the interior.

The floodgates have opened today on the internet on "spy" images of pre-production prototypes of the long-awaited replacement for the C-segment Alfa 147, revealing all external angles as well as giving a first look at the interior. Last week the first image of Progetto 940, dubbed the Alfa "Milano", showing the front end, broke cover and today a further 10 pictures have rapidly circulated.

Designed in-house by Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, Progetto 940 will only be available as a 5-door hatchback. While keeping to much of the new "design language" first seen on the limited-edition "halo" Alfa 8C Competizione sports car and further evolved by the B-segment MiTo hatchback, the Milano at the front betrays a front grille influenced by the Bertone-styled Alfa GT Coupé while the thin front spoiler sections show evolutionary styling from the Alfa 147 model it will replace.

The new photos circulated today show the side clearly for the first time, and the high side treatment follows the pattern of the Lancia Delta and Fiat Bravo, as the Milano is built around an evolved version of their "Compact" platform, known as "C-Evo" which will have a longer wheelbase, shorter overhangs and an advanced new type of McPherson strut front/multilink rear suspension. Meanwhile both front-wheel-drive and Alfa Romeo's Q4 four-wheel-drive have been engineered into C-Evo, while Active Roll Control will also be an option on the Milano.

The sharp, angular styling of the Milano is a clear departure from Alfa Romeo's recent tradition and shows clearly the influences of the senior design management changes that have recently taken place at Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, with the shape heavily influenced by the new generation of design thinking that Chris Bangle introduced at BMW. The photos also show an attempt to incorporate the principles of the fade-in-fade-out swage line effect that was so successful on the Alfa 156. The prototype cars are also being tested on 5-stud wheels from the Alfa 159 which means that the C-Evo platform will have 110mm PCD. As had been gathered from disguised prototypes seen testing, the rear door handles of the Milano are hidden, reviving the much-loved concept of the Alfa 147 and 156 which was dropped when the Alfa 159 arrived. The rear tailgate shows evolution from the Alfa 147 and the MiTo, especially with its angular lower horizontal glass line, though the new rear lights are a mash of ideas.

While the exterior design has split initial opinion the interior images show a stylish dashboard with an aluminium front section that flows across the car interrupted only for the positioning of the radio/CD player control panel. This is another area of the Milano that shows some BMW design influence. In the centre section the switches and heater controls bear some similarity to early Alfa 8C Competizione styling concepts while the instruments in front of the driver are similar to the Fiat Bravo from which the underlying equipment evolves.

It has been reported that Milano's petrol engine range will be made up of the 1.4 TBi unit fitted with the new MultiAir induction technology (135 & 165bhp) and the direct-injection 1.8 TBi (235bhp, 265bhp twin-turbo) while these two will be complimented by two turbodiesels, a 1.6 (120bhp) and 2.0 (170bhp & 220bhp twin-stage turbo) in "MultiJet 2" specification.